The search for victims of deadly flooding in Texas Hill Country is headed into its third week as officials try to pin down exactly how many people remain missing and lawmakers prepare to discuss authorities’ initial response and providing better warning systems.
Flash floods killed at least 135 people in Texas over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, with most deaths along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, about 60 miles northwest of San Antonio. The Hill Country is naturally prone to flash flooding because its dry, dirt-packed soil cannot soak up heavy rain.
State officials had been saying about 160 people were unaccounted for after the flooding in Kerr County alone, but they now say about 100 remain missing in Kerr and other counties. State, federal and international resources were poured into rescue efforts, which were hindered by more rain in mid-July.
Kerr County officials said the number of missing people decreased as victims were recovered, contact was made with people who were found safe, and some reports were found to be unsubstantiated or falsified. Also, they said, the missing list fluctuates as reports come into a hotline.
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The floods laid waste to the Hill Country. Vacation cabins, youth camps campgrounds fill the riverbanks and hills of Kerr County, and Camp Mystic, a century-old Christian summer camp for girls in a low-lying area along the Guadalupe. At least 27 of its campers and counselors died. Many of the campers who died were the camp’s youngest attendees.
The Texas Legislature is scheduled to convene Monday for a special session. Gov. Greg Abbott initially called lawmakers back to the Texas State Capitol in Austin hoping legislators would pass a measure to regulate a booming business in THC products after he vetoed a bill that would have banned them. Since the flooding, President Donald Trump has also told the Republicans who control state government to redraw congressional districts to help the GOP’s chances of retaining a U.S. House majority in next year’s midterm elections.
Now, Abbott and other legislative leaders have added flooding-related issues to the agenda. Abbott said lawmakers would also review authorities’ handling of the flooding and consider improving warning systems for Hill Country residents. Kerr County does not have a warning system because state and local agencies missed opportunities over the past decade to finance one.
Trump and Abbott have pushed back aggressively against questions about how well local authorities responded to forecasts of heavy rain and the first reports of flash flooding. The president, who visited the area on July 11, called a reporter “evil” for raising such issues and said he thought “everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances.” Abbott dismissed a question about who was to blame for the deaths as “the word choice of losers” and used an analogy that began: “Every football team makes mistakes.”
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“The way winners talk is not to point fingers,” he concluded.
Abbott has designated bills dealing with early warning systems and emergency communications as priorities for the Legislature’s special session, scheduled to last 30 days.
The House and Senate have formed special committees on flooding and disaster preparedness, and they’re planning a July 31 visit to Kerrville, the seat of hardest-hit Kerr County, to hear comments from residents.
The committees are scheduled to begin with a joint hearing Wednesday to consider the state’s response to the fatal floods; planning for floods; infrastructure for managing floods; and communications among first responders. Washington senator Maria Cantwell said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that there is a “national responsibility” for the federal government to improve forecasting systems.
One bill already introduced by Republican Rep. Don McLaughlin would require the state’s top public health official to set building standards for youth camps in 100-year floodplains — which FEMA defines as a high-risk area with a 1% chance of flooding in any given year.
During a recent news conference, Republican state Rep. Drew Darby, a member of the House’s committee, said lawmakers cannot bring back flood victims or undo the flooding.
“But what we can do is learn from it,” he said.
